Brooklyn, N.Y. — Marvin Bagley III was the focal point of Duke's offense all season, and he just became the first Blue Devil selected on what is certain to be a busy night for the program at the NBA Draft.
The Sacramento Kings took Bagley with the No. 2 overall pick, marking the fifth consecutive year a Duke one-and-done has been a top-three selection. Bagley was picked after the Phoenix Suns chose Arizona big man Deandre Ayton first overall.
"It's amazing. I've known Deandre for a long time," Bagley said. "To see him live out his dream and me living out my dream, it's amazing. It's an amazing feeling. Like I said, I'm excited to go into this new journey."
Bagley's decision to reclassify and commit to Duke a year early last August instantly changed the 2017-18 college basketball landscape, and the 6-foot-11 forward lived up to the hype, especially on offense. The Phoenix native was the ACC Player and Rookie of the Year and a consensus first-team All-American, matching former Blue Devil one-and-done Jahlil Okafor with his hardware collection.
Bagley finished the year averaging 21.0 points and 11.1 rebounds per game with 22 double-doubles, a Blue Devil freshman record.
At the PK80 Invitational in Portland, Ore., in November, Bagley carried Duke to the title with back-to-back games of at least 30 points and 15 rebounds in comeback victories against Texas and Florida. He went on to post at least 30 and 15 two more times—including a 32-point, 21-rebound herculean effort in the Blue Devils' home ACC opener against Florida State—after such a performance had only been achieved once, by Christian Laettner, during head coach Mike Krzyzewski's first 37 seasons at Duke.
"There's no such thing as easy games, and I think that will definitely help me going into the NBA level," Bagley said. "As a rookie coming in; everybody is going to want to prove to you that you shouldn't be here or try to prove a point to you. So you've just got to be ready for that and just play and have fun and compete at a high level. And I think that's what I'm ready to do."
Bagley finished the year averaging 21.0 points and 11.1 rebounds per game with 22 double-doubles, a Blue Devil freshman record.
But Bagley's prowess did not always translate to the defensive end, where Duke was forced to switch to a 2-3 zone exclusively for the last two months of the season, and there were times the Blue Devils looked more cohesive when he was not on the floor. Duke won four straight games with Bagley sidelined by a mild knee sprain in February, as guard Grayson Allen thrived with more room to operate in the open court.
Bagley will need to develop a more consistent shot and get tougher on defense to be a star in the NBA, but he is sure to get plenty of chances to maximize his potential as one of the most prized prospects in this year's draft class.
"It's a lot of things that I think I should get better at," Bagley said. "It's just about me studying myself, studying other players, studying basketball in general, getting better at each thing I put a finger on and choose to get better at. There's a lot of things I'm working on to help me play at this level."
The fit: The Kings' young pieces didn't quite figure out how to play together last season, as the team stumbled to a 27-65 record and scored the fewest points in the NBA without a go-to scorer. Adding Bagley will go a long way toward solving those offensive struggles, giving pass-first point guard De'Aaron Fox an ideal target in the post.
Bagley will likely join formidable rim protector Willie Cauley-Stein in the starting frontcourt, which could help hide some of defensive deficiencies early in his career, and former Blue Devil forward Harry Giles will also be in the mix. Giles was the 20th overall pick last June and sat out the entire NBA season to strengthen his knees.
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